Goal/size/scope
TAILORING YOUR COURSE
We are often asked to provide
a half-day seminar on assertiveness
or
a weekend's bonding session between HQ and subsidiary
or
a three-hour slot to put a learning element into a two-day conference
In such cases, we consult closely with the client before, during and after the event to make sure our intervention does the trick. Often the actual name of the session is one of the last things we decide.
To give an idea of the factors involved in tailoring, we have taken three ‘classic' courses (described within our portfolio), and suggested how they can be adapted to your needs.
PRESENTATION SKILLS
Preferably:
6-8 trainees per trainer, to ensure plenty of practice & feedback; a training room with space to practise stage movement; participants who are prepared to make a real effort to perform well and listen to constructive criticism.
Variables:
- Length of the course : three days of 9-till-5 covering the whole syllabus?; a one-day "booster shot”?; two days at a residential training centre?; spread the ideas and exercises over two or three modules?
- Emphasis : basic confidence for novices?; master-classes for top-flight
performers?; focussed preparation for a big occasion?; a bit of fun and stress relief?
- Culture and language : our baseline is "international English for international audiences", but we have worked successfully in many combinations of cultures, at all levels of language competence
NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES
Doing the right thing, or doing the thing right? Strategy (goals, preparation, agenda) or face-to-face (enquiring, proposing, bargaining)?
What should participants say later: "Now I know more about how good negotiating works", or "Now I perform more confidently eyeball to eyeball across the negotiating table"?
For the former, a big group is OK, otherwise 8-10 participants per trainer, so nobody can hide in the corner and avoid the trainer's spotlight..
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Two issues here: the generic (In what ways do cultures differ and how flexible can I be?) and the culture-specific (What special rules apply to my dealings with Culture X, Y, Z?).
Some clients want us to develop world travellers with open minds and universal tools for good communication, while others say ‘we have to get ready to work with our new partners in China / Russia / Portugal …'
We can handle both. If we don't have the culture-specific experience in-house, we bring in associates who have.
For more on our teaching style, read our credo.
Or of course, please contact us.
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